


Treehouse

by ToxicPineapple



Series: Rantaro Amami Week 2020 [6]
Category: New Dangan Ronpa V3: Everyone's New Semester of Killing
Genre: Alternate Universe - Non-Despair (Dangan Ronpa), Background Nonbinary Momota Kaito, Banter, Established Relationship, F/M, Fluff, Romance, They live in my brain rent free, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, background kaimaki, they're in LOVE your honour
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-02
Updated: 2020-10-02
Packaged: 2021-03-08 02:33:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,407
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26728264
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ToxicPineapple/pseuds/ToxicPineapple
Summary: “Anyway, it wasn’t Momota-san who told me, which makes this even worse, probably,” Kaede is continuing, gesturing with the hand that isn’t currently swinging Rantaro’s back and forth. Rantaro bites back a smile. She has so much energy. It’s contagious. “Harukawa-san and I were having a girl’s night, y’know? And she was braiding my hair, and I figured she was tired of me talking about how cute it is when you’re asleep and you’re dreaming and your nose gets all scrunched up--”“Hey,” Rantaro frowns.“So I asked her for a fun fact about her partner! And Harukawa-san threatened to kill me, which is business as usual, and then eventually she admitted that she thinks it’s cute that Momota-san can’t tie their shoelaces. Then she threatened to kill me if I ever told anyone. Oh!” Kaede furrows her brow. “She didn’t mean that, did she?”“Uh,” Rantaro really couldn’t say. Harukawa is pretty scary for a babysitter. “Hope not?”“Awww, geez!” Kaede huffs, giving Rantaro a pouty look. “I’m sure she was just being hyperbolic!”---Kaede takes Rantaro to visit her childhood home.---Amami week day six: Green/Gold
Relationships: Akamatsu Kaede/Amami Rantaro
Series: Rantaro Amami Week 2020 [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1941298
Comments: 4
Kudos: 18





	Treehouse

**Author's Note:**

> written for amami week day six! the prompt was green/gold
> 
> i didn't publicise amami week this year because it's a personal writing project i'm doing with a few other friends. here are the prompts for the week, but it is kind of a friend event, just for the record. i'm aware that i'm doing this at the exact same time as amamatsu week and i really wish i had known before i already had two fics finished so i could try and put it at another time FKJDSFKLj but yeah, please support amamatsu week and don't do this challenge with me unless you're one of my friends who was already doing it. <3
> 
> day one: stay/go  
> day two: lost/fault  
> day three: home/ocean  
> day four: trust/family  
> day five: safe/danger  
> day six: gold/green  
> day seven: free space/birthday

“So,” Kaede’s inevitable jab would, Rantaro thinks, be a lot more potent if she could stop giggling between words. “Do you just, like wearing shoes without laces? Or are you like Momota-san, who just,” she gestures with her hand, using her other to cover her mouth and stifle a more overt laugh. “Can’t.”

“I can tie my shoelaces,” Rantaro frowns, mildly, the only indication he’s giving that he recognises what Kaede is saying as something he should be indignant over. “What kind of sailor would I be if I couldn’t tie a bow? And who said Momota-san can’t tie their shoelaces?” He raises his eyebrows, looking incredulously at his girlfriend, prompting her eyes to widen slightly, her hand pressing more firmly over her lips.

“Oh! I wasn’t supposed to tell you that, sorry! Scout’s honour!” Kaede pipes, shaking her head. Rantaro raises his eyebrows further. “No! Don’t make that face, you know I’ll give in.”

“Have you considered that that’s the reason why I’m making this face?” Rantaro asks, smiling.

“You’re such a jerk!” Kaede laughs, fully now, removing her hand from her mouth to swat at Rantaro’s shoulder. Her hands barely make contact, mainly because Rantaro doesn’t think Kaede could ever make a move to hurt anybody in that way, least of all him, but he pretends to be injured anyway, grabbing his shoulder and shooting her a deeply wounded look that he hopes she understands is in jest. Kaede falters for just a moment, but her smile bounces right back, so Rantaro figures it’s fine. “You can’t tell anyone I told you, okay?”

“Oh, so you  _ are  _ telling me?” Rantaro smirks.

“Shut up!!” Kaede huffs, though her tone lacks any real malice. “You already know, anyway!” She clears her throat, relaxing, reaching out for Rantaro’s hand. He gives it over, obligingly, letting her steer him into the next turn.

The houses on this corner are large, though smaller than what Rantaro is used to, having grown up in the wealthiest part of Tokyo. They’re way up north right now, in Hokkaido, walking from the docks to visit Kaede’s childhood home. The stars must be brighter out here than they are in Tokyo, though Rantaro admittedly doesn’t come up here particularly often, and certainly not long enough to get a good look at the sky. It’s a nice neighbourhood. Definitely a more comfortable place to live than Tokyo, with its tiny, claustrophobic apartments and its filthy, filthy air. Kaede seems excited to be back, even if she’s more subdued than she would be, say, in front of a piano. It’s nice to be taking a day to just spend time with his girlfriend for once. Rantaro feels as though they don’t get to do that nearly enough.

“Anyway, it wasn’t Momota-san who told me, which makes this even worse, probably,” Kaede is continuing, gesturing with the hand that isn’t currently swinging Rantaro’s back and forth. Rantaro bites back a smile. She has so much energy. It’s contagious. “Harukawa-san and I were having a girl’s night, y’know? And she was braiding my hair, and I figured she was tired of me talking about how cute it is when you’re asleep and you’re dreaming and your nose gets all scrunched up--”

“Hey,” Rantaro frowns.

_ “So  _ I asked her for a fun fact about her partner! And Harukawa-san threatened to kill me, which is business as usual, and then eventually she admitted that she thinks it’s cute that Momota-san can’t tie their shoelaces. Then she threatened to kill me if I ever told anyone. Oh!” Kaede furrows her brow. “She didn’t mean that, did she?”

“Uh,” Rantaro really couldn’t say. Harukawa is pretty scary for a babysitter. “Hope not?”

“Awww, geez!” Kaede huffs, giving Rantaro a pouty look. “I’m sure she was just being hyperbolic!” She shakes her head, quickly. “But anyway, you shouldn’t tell anyone. And not because I think Harukawa-san is going to kill me!” She adds that very quickly, and if Rantaro didn’t know her better, he’d almost think that Kaede thinks Harukawa is going to kill her. “But because I don’t want Momota-san to be embarrassed. There’s probably a reason why they don’t spread that stuff around, you know. Ugh!” Kaede stomps her foot a little, puffing out her cheeks and shooting Rantaro a mock-irritated glare. “I always say too much stuff when I’m around you! I’d never be able to cheat on you because the second I see your face I just wanna say everything.”

“Does that mean cheating would be on the table if you  _ didn’t  _ do that?” Rantaro asks, his eyebrows raised, not even bothering to hide his amusement. Partly because he’s aware that Kaede does this and he finds it extremely cute (not to mention that it makes her really approachable, knowing how open and earnest she is; though it helps that he already told her about his sisters last December, so they don’t have to deal with it) but also so she knows he’s not actually fussed about her cheating on him. Kaede is loyal to a fault, but they’re also both polyamorous. They’ve talked about it before. They’ll probably talk about it again, if it ever comes to that.

“Obviously not!” Kaede huffs. “I was just naming an exam-- oh! There’s my house!” She points out a pale green house that sticks out on the block mainly due to its size; it’s not small by any means, but it’s smaller than the others here. Rantaro’s met Kaede’s dads before, and they’re both fairly minimalistic people, so this is in keeping with what Rantaro knows about them.

“It’s not really your house anymore, right?” Rantaro doesn’t ask to be fastidious, more just to get a clearer picture of what’s going on, here. Kaede and her sister and their dads moved out of that house into a property in Tokyo when Kaede was accepted into Hope’s Peak Academy a year ago. On the ferry ride here, Kaede referred to the residence they’re standing in front of now as her childhood home, so Rantaro assumed it wasn’t, strictly speaking, her home anymore. Her word choice just now might’ve just been force of habit, but still, he’d like to check.

“Oh, uhm,” Kaede’s smile turns a little sheepish. “Well, not technically, because I don’t really live here, but we still own it, y’know?”

Which, generally speaking, shouldn’t come off as a surprise to Rantaro. Kaede’s family definitely isn’t as rich as Rantaro’s, (which, admittedly, isn’t saying a lot, because Rantaro’s father is a billionaire) but they’re on the upper end. Kaede has a piano in her bedroom, and a piano in the music room down the hall from her bedroom, and a piano in the sitting room. They’re definitely the kind of wealth that can afford multiple properties.

“We’re not going to be intruding on some poor family by coming here, if that’s what you were asking,” Kaede adds, her tongue poking out from between her teeth. Rantaro shakes his head, to dismiss that particular assurance, and Kaede giggles, tugging on his arm. “C’mon, the sandwiches I packed aren’t gonna be good for super long, especially not if we’re just standing here in the sun.”

Instead of taking Rantaro inside the house, she guides him up the driveway and down the side, skirting by the fence at the end of the property, humming a little. There isn’t enough space over here for them to walk side by side, so Rantaro ends up being dragged along Kaede as they move towards her backyard, taking in the earthy, damp smell from the yard.

It’s not such a surprising smell, nor does it catch Rantaro off guard the way his shoes sink slightly into the grass as Kaede pulls him out properly into the backyard. It’s been raining a lot recently up here; in fact, it was raining just before they got off the ferry, and they almost ran to get to their Uber before realising the sun had come out. Actually, disregarding the light tickle of claustrophobia in his chest at the musty smell (purely brought on by the memories it dredges up; Kaede’s backyard is a wide space, if enclosed by a gate) it’s rather pleasant, really. Rantaro’s always liked the rain.

Kaede’s backyard is nice, too. The grass is long and uncut, probably because nobody has lived in this house for well over a year by now, it being June in the year after Kaede’s family moved out. There are daisies scattered throughout. Kaede has recounted memories of picking flowers back here with her twin sister and making flower crowns together. Frankly, Rantaro can’t picture Kashiko, Kaede’s punk rock sister who favours ripped jeans and septum piercings and black hair dye, sitting around and making flower crowns of all things, but maybe she was less edgy when she was ten. And even if she wasn’t, well, Kaede sort of tends to have that effect on people, anyway. Those pictures of Saihara with his hair braided back don’t exist for nothing.

There are a couple trees back here, most of them small, probably around two thirds of the height of the house, but there’s one tree with a wide trunk and a ladder coming down the front of it, a small treehouse build on the widest of its upper limbs. Rantaro glances over at Kaede, his eyebrows quirked slightly, like,  _ is this what you wanted to show me?  _ and she smiles, her expression just a pinch apprehensive. Even after all this time, she’s still anxious about getting his approval.

Well, that really won’t do. Rantaro smiles, looking between his girlfriend and the treehouse. “Y’know, I’ve never been in one of those,” he says, tilting his head to the side. “I’ve read about them in books, but I can’t imagine it’s the same thing.”

“Nowhere near it!” Kaede asserts, visibly relaxing. “You’ve really never been in a treehouse before?”

“Nope,” and Rantaro pops the p at the end, turning back to look up into the tree, rubbing the back of his neck, like he’s sheepish about it. He is, a little bit, but not nearly as much as he’s making himself out to be. “One of my step moms thought it was a safety hazard, and the sisters of mine who would’ve wanted to use it-- well, mainly just Maemi, actually--” Rantaro waits for Kaede’s eyes to spark with recognition before he continues, “didn’t have the attention span to wait for it to be built, so, it never ended up happening.”

“Well!” Kaede smiles, all sunshine-y and bright. “When you find Maemi-san, you can bring her here! This was Kashiko’s and my treehouse when we were super little, so I’m sure she’ll like it a bunch, too! Be careful on the third rung of the ladder, okay? It’s kinda lopsided.”

She doesn’t wait for a response before hurrying off to the tree, kicking off her shoes and starting to climb up. Rantaro feels his chest flood with warmth, at that. Kaede always talks so definitively about his finding his sisters. It used to make him feel a bit guilty, like she was faking optimism in the face of what anyone could see is an impossible feat, but it’s been six months since he told her about them, and she remains adamant that he’s going to find them, despite the lack of progress. Rantaro doesn’t know if there’s ever been anyone in his life who’s believed in him as fiercely and as genuinely as Kaede does.

And hell if he doesn’t deserve it, but that doesn’t mean he’s not going to indulge in it anyway. He feels way too good around Kaede to try and pull away from all of this.

He follows her to the trunk, waiting for her to pull herself into the treehouse before kicking off his shoes and following suit. As instructed, Rantaro pays attention to the third rung, wiggling his bare feet over the wood as he gets his balance. It’s not so bad, but Rantaro can see how it could’ve tripped him up had he not been paying close enough attention. Kaede is thoughtful like that. That’s another one of those things that makes him feel so incredibly warm inside, how much attention and care she puts into other people’s wellbeing. It’s really impossible to forget how much Rantaro doesn’t deserve her, doesn’t deserve to be the person she brought back to show all this to.

There are gaps in between the planks that make up the roof of Kaede’s treehouse, and as a result, streams of green and gold light filter in through the wood, illuminating the particles of dust that are floating around in this space and giving it the appearance of stardust.

That’s… a weird thought to have about dust, but Rantaro can’t help finding everything to be beautiful when Kaede’s involved.

Speaking of Kaede, she’s just short enough to be able to stand up straight in here, and one of those golden beams of sunlight catches her hair when she shifts, making her glow for a moment. She seems almost ethereal in this lighting, pale plum eyes lit up with affection when they focus on Rantaro, a warm, gooey smile on her face, a slight flush on her cheeks. Kaede is absolutely radiant-- and she always is, really, always has been one of the most beautiful people Rantaro has ever seen, but right now, it’s… it’s just really hard to believe she actually has feelings for  _ Rantaro,  _ that she’s… wanted to stick around for this long.

Rantaro can’t complain, though, not in this moment.

“So?” Kaede tilts her head to the side. “What do you think?”

“Perfect,” Rantaro says, and from his tone, it’s pretty obvious he’s not just talking about the treehouse.

Kaede’s face flushes. “You’re such a flirt!” she complains, huffing, even though the both of them know that’s not  _ entirely  _ true. Rantaro flirts with her, sure, now, but before they were dating… not particularly.

He grins, regardless. “Guilty as charged,” he says, and despite Kaede’s indignance, she doesn’t protest when Rantaro walks over to her, bent over so as not to hit his head on the ceiling, reaching up to cup her chin with a hand. Nor does she complain when he draws her in for a kiss, but then, that part was kind of implied.

Rantaro doesn’t know how anyone could see Kaede in that lighting and  _ not  _ kiss her, after all.

**Author's Note:**

> oh these hets....


End file.
